Chakras · 6 of 7
Third eye chakra
आज्ञा Ajna
Seeing clearly, including what you would rather not.
At a glance
- Colour
- Indigo
- Location
- Between the eyebrows
- Element
- Light
- Position
- 6 of 7
What the third eye chakra governs
Placed between the eyebrows, the third eye is described as governing perception and discernment: intuition, yes, but more precisely the ability to see a situation as it is rather than as you need it to be. Practitioners are usually careful to distinguish this from psychic claims — the emphasis is on clarity rather than on foresight.
Signs of a blocked third eye chakra
Described as confusion that persists despite having all the information, difficulty trusting your own read of a situation, and a habit of deferring to other people's interpretation of your own life. Over-activation is described as living in analysis, with nothing reaching the body.
Worth saying plainly: none of this is a diagnosis. Several of the states described here are also symptoms of conditions a doctor should look at, and a chakra reading is not a substitute for that.
How practitioners work with it
Meditation, reduced input, and specifically less screen. The instruction that recurs is to stop consuming other people's interpretations long enough to find out what you think, which is harder than it sounds and requires no equipment.
What is classical here, and what is not
Ajna is classical, its name meaning 'command', and its position between the eyebrows is consistent across the Sanskrit sources. The modern popular reading — intuition, psychic sight, 'opening the third eye' as a goal in itself — is a considerable expansion, and the classical texts treat it as a stage within a disciplined practice rather than an ability to acquire.
Frequently asked questions
What does the third eye chakra do?
Placed between the eyebrows, the third eye is described as governing perception and discernment: intuition, yes, but more precisely the ability to see a situation as it is rather than as you need it to be. Practitioners are usually careful to distinguish this from psychic claims — the emphasis is on clarity rather than on foresight.
What are the signs of a blocked third eye chakra?
Described as confusion that persists despite having all the information, difficulty trusting your own read of a situation, and a habit of deferring to other people's interpretation of your own life. Over-activation is described as living in analysis, with nothing reaching the body.
What colour is the third eye chakra?
Indigo, in the modern system. The spectrum colours are one of the parts that is not classical — they were assigned by twentieth-century Western writers, not taken from the Sanskrit sources.
How do you unblock the third eye chakra?
Meditation, reduced input, and specifically less screen. The instruction that recurs is to stop consuming other people's interpretations long enough to find out what you think, which is harder than it sounds and requires no equipment.